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31 thoughts on “On my favorite ted talks”

Livvidsays:

That Sarah Kay talk OBLITERATED me during finals week of my junior year of college. I was knee deep in a 3 a.m. study session and decided to take a break. I was battling one of the worst bouts of depression in my life and dealing with a bad dating/relationship situation. I was also on my period and very hormonal. My friend Facebook messaged me the link and I took a study break to watch it.

My roommate came in to find me curled up on the floor with chocolate covered raisins strewn about. I don’t remember how the the raisins got there. I just remember I had been keeping it together for a long time, and that poem shattered the delicate wall that had been holding back my flood of emotions.

My roommate rubbed my back a little bit, and I cry-laughed and talked it out with her for another 5 minutes. I got up, feeling different. Empty. Relieved. Strong. I cleaned up the chocolate covered raisins. Went on to do really well on my finals and broke up with the Fuckboy of the Month.

Her voice is so fucking beautiful. Before I spoke to anyone about being sexually assaulted, I would go on tearful binges. It’s how I got a lot of faux catharsis before I could actually achieve catharsis.

The Atheism 2.0 is for atheists everywhere. Atheism starts out for most people as an act of defiance, rejecting religion (not all, but a whole lot) but at some point it’s got to settle into part of the character of a positive and self-rewarding life. You’ve rejected supernatural explanations, and so you don’t go to church, but ritual is still important. Self-reflection and confession and community are still important.

Mark Henrick’s talk… Holy shit. I cried more or less the whole video. As someone who struggles with suicidal thoughts almost daily, this one was like a nine iron to the gut. His stories are absolutely heartbreaking. The message is powerful and empowering to those with mental illness: we deserve to be heard and understood, that we need to be included in the conversation. And he inspired me to be braver, even just a tiny bit.